Whren v. U.S Case Brief

Whren v. U.S., 517 U.S. 806, 116 S.Ct. 1769 (1996)

FACTS: Officers patrolling a “high drug area” in an unmarked car observed Brown, the driver of a truck, waiting at stop sign for unusually long time, then turning suddenly without signaling, and finally speeding. Officers stopped the vehicle. Upon approaching the truck, officers saw plastic bags containing crack cocaine in Whren’s hands – Whren was in the passenger seat.

Whren argued that the officer’s reason for approaching the car was pretextual, and that the drugs should be suppressed.

ISSUE: Is a “pretext stop,” which is defined as a stop for a minor reason when the officer subjectively believes that other crimes are being committed, valid?

HOLDING: Yes

DISCUSSION: The officers had probable cause to make the initial traffic stop. Whren argued that because the traffic code consists of a “multitude of applicable traffic and equipment regulations,” that officers could always find a reason to stop any car, and as such, the test should be what a reasonable officer would do under the circumstances. In other words, would a reasonable officer have made that particular stop? The Court recognized that it would be almost impossible to define “standard police practices,” as they would differ dramatically from place to place, and held that if the officers could identify valid reasons for the stop, that such stops were permitted without considering the subjective intent of the officers involved.